Tim McGraw Celebrates 49th Chart-Topper At No. 1 Party

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Pictured (L-R): songwriter Marc Beeson, producer Byron Gallimore, Tim McGraw, songwriter Aaron Eshuis, songwriter Tony Lane. Back Row, Chairman & CEO, Big Machine Label Group Scott Borchetta and ASCAP Nashville Associate Vice President Evyn Mustoe; Photo: Larry McCormack

ASCAP brought Tim McGraw and his team together on Wednesday afternoon (May 22) to celebrate the artist’s whopping 49th No. 1 hit “One Bad Habit.”

Industry members, friends and family gathered on the second floor of Live Oak and received a warm welcome from ASCAP’s Evyn Mustoe. Gathered on stage were songwriters Aaron Eshuis, Marc Beeson and Tony Lane alongside producer Byron Gallimore and McGraw.

Mustoe began by congratulating Eshuis on his third No. 1 as a writer, Beeson’s fourth and touting Lane as “everybody’s favorite songwriter.”

SMACKSong’s Sam Sarno was the first to step to the mic, congratulating Beeson for his success and unwavering dedication to the craft. To speak on Eshuis, Concord’s Matt Turner remarked, “We are so proud to celebrate your first No. 1 as a Concord writer. Aaron is one of those guys that you don’t see in public that often because he is usually in a writing room somewhere making magic.”

Up next was Warner Chappell’s Jessi Vaughn Stevenson who took the mic to speak on behalf of Lane, followed by Big Machine Record’s Kris Lamb who congratulated McGraw. “Not only is this Tim’s 49th No. 1 record, but he has now spent more time atop the Mediabase chart than anyone else in history—77 weeks.”

Of the co-writers, Beeson was the first to speak, expressing his gratitude for the people around him, his love for songwriting and his excitement for his first McGraw cut.

Pictured: L to R: songwriter Marc Beeson, producer Byron Gallimore, Tim McGraw, songwriter Aaron Eshuis, songwriter Tony Lane; Photo: Larry McCormack

“It only took me 35 years to get a Tim McGraw cut,” laughed Beeson. “It is such a journey, but it’s part of the process as a songwriter. If you can’t endure what it takes to get it where it is, then you really can’t do this for a living. That holds a lot of meaning to me, but if it takes another 35 years, we probably won’t be around!”

Eshuis took the opportunity to thank his family and co-writers before offering his gratitude to McGraw. “There are a lot of songwriters in town that write for you, specifically. We love to talk about your music and talk about what you are up to. Since you cut a lot of outside songs, it is always so exciting for us.”

Lane was the last of the songwriters to speak saying, “Tim doesn’t know this, but back in the day, us writers would sit in a room and think, ‘Is this a Tim song, a Strait song, or a Kenny song?’ There were only three options. The last thing Tim doesn’t know is that all my passwords are ‘TimMcGraw33.’”

Before McGraw took the mic, Gallimore thanked everyone for their support over the last 30 years and praised McGraw for his amazing voice, commenting that he would be out of a job were it not for him.

Finally, McGraw closed the afternoon out, commending the songwriters, producer and his supporters.

“Look, I write for every album I do. But then I start getting songs from these amazing songwriters and eventually all of mine fall away! Songwriters are the lifeblood of this town and of music. That is where the music starts.”

“I am honored to be here, honored to still be able to do this and honored that all the people in this town still stand beside me.”

John Nix Arledge
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